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A Wild and Precious Life: A Recovery Anthology
At some point in our lives we will all face the challenge of recovery - whether our own or that of someone we love - from addiction, physical illness, mental health issues or loss. Many of us heal., and we may discover ways to live with our changed selves, to reclaim a life. We may find a new voice, or unearth a voice that has been submerged.
Vitally, recovery can mean community. A Wild and Precious Life brings together fiction, memoir and poetry to represent just such a community of writers: new, unheard voices alongside emerging and established authors.
Theirs are stories from the dark back alleys, the deep crevices of the mind, and from the ecstatic heights of life before, during and after recovery. They are stories of vulnerability but also of laughter, strength and joy.
These are voices that urgently need to be heard in all their variety.
Vitally, recovery can mean community. A Wild and Precious Life brings together fiction, memoir and poetry to represent just such a community of writers: new, unheard voices alongside emerging and established authors.
Theirs are stories from the dark back alleys, the deep crevices of the mind, and from the ecstatic heights of life before, during and after recovery. They are stories of vulnerability but also of laughter, strength and joy.
These are voices that urgently need to be heard in all their variety.
318 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 2021
3 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Lily Dunn
6 books17 followersLily Dunn is an author, mentor and educator. Her first novel was published by Portobello Books and her memoir about the legacy of her father’s various addictions will be published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in March 2022. She has personal essays in Granta, Litro, Hinterland, MIRonline and The Real Story, and is a regular writer for Aeon magazine. She is in her final writing up year of her doctorate at Birkbeck, University of London, and is interested in how to integrate the therapeutic power of writing with literature. She is editor of A Wild and Precious Life: a collection of stories and poetry from writers in recovery, published by Unbound in May 2021. She teaches creative writing at Bath Spa University and co-runs London Lit Lab.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 12, 2021
Each life is precious, and in this collection of pieces that is celebrated, as various kinds of recovery are tackled. Some recall mental and or physical trauma, addiction of various kinds, loss and more, and this is a book full of the stories of recovery in some way. It is not a depressing book; indeed it is in so many ways life affirming, a marking of the unquestionable strength of the human spirit in the face of difficult circumstances. Prose pieces, poetry and ruthless reportage are all here, carefully logging in a myriad of ways the ways that people are challenged, and how those people can deal with difficult situations after a fashion. This is not a book of instant recoveries or self help, rather an appreciation of how recovery can mean community, discovering others through fiction, memoir and poetry. These are vulnerable voices that have been raised as they cope with their own issues or the challenges of those that they love. They use analogies, minute accounts, broad sweeps of phrases or carefully constructed verse to explain and expand on the truths that affect anyone, whether a money poor family from Scotland, or the well resourced financially but struggling mentally from London. It deals with relationships, the harsh realities of internal thoughts, communities of the struggling striving for a new start. It is a complex and rewarding reading experience, and I was glad to have the opportunity to read and review this unique book.
In her moving Introduction, Lily Dunn writes about starting a creative writing group at the Hackney Recovery Service, on the surface to volunteer to help those who were struggling with life, but also to help get over her own loss of her father to alcoholism. In a centre where drug users would come for the basics of prescriptions and needles, regulars and graduates of reduced drinking or abstinence programmes would be coming to terms with living a new and clean life. It emerged that many wrote, scribbling down disregarded words, anxious to clear their mind by trying to encapsulate their feelings. Given direction, purpose and audience and appreciation, an understanding of the power of writing, of looking around and noticing the details, these writers began to cope better, see the possibilities around them. This book is the outworking of that impulse, as a request for submissions have culminated in this book, a perhaps unexpectedly positive and hopeful fictional and factual book of experiences. Recovery in this book is not a single state of total change- it has stages, perhaps backwards steps and responses that are incremental rather than giant leaps of total answers. This is a book which looks at the variety of recovery, which can be as varied and significant as the number of writers and contributors to this book, whether making a first foray into print or the product of established writers who are all represented here.
Some of the themes of the book which I found interesting are the imagery used by people, of trees and seasoned wood, of the inside of rooms explored in minute detail, of the sounds, smells light and dark of life with addictions, mental health issues and those who develop physical symptoms which are brushed off. There are dark pieces set in the corners of society which most of us do not see, or wish to experience, as well as the sometimes twisted reality of family life when challenges emerge. This book undoubtedly represents some deep feelings of virtually every variety, and represents the honest attempts of many people to reflect how every life is precious, however wild, challenging or disappointing, but also how hope survives and different ways of living can be achieved. I recommend this book for its honesty, its artistry, and its variety of lived experiences.
In her moving Introduction, Lily Dunn writes about starting a creative writing group at the Hackney Recovery Service, on the surface to volunteer to help those who were struggling with life, but also to help get over her own loss of her father to alcoholism. In a centre where drug users would come for the basics of prescriptions and needles, regulars and graduates of reduced drinking or abstinence programmes would be coming to terms with living a new and clean life. It emerged that many wrote, scribbling down disregarded words, anxious to clear their mind by trying to encapsulate their feelings. Given direction, purpose and audience and appreciation, an understanding of the power of writing, of looking around and noticing the details, these writers began to cope better, see the possibilities around them. This book is the outworking of that impulse, as a request for submissions have culminated in this book, a perhaps unexpectedly positive and hopeful fictional and factual book of experiences. Recovery in this book is not a single state of total change- it has stages, perhaps backwards steps and responses that are incremental rather than giant leaps of total answers. This is a book which looks at the variety of recovery, which can be as varied and significant as the number of writers and contributors to this book, whether making a first foray into print or the product of established writers who are all represented here.
Some of the themes of the book which I found interesting are the imagery used by people, of trees and seasoned wood, of the inside of rooms explored in minute detail, of the sounds, smells light and dark of life with addictions, mental health issues and those who develop physical symptoms which are brushed off. There are dark pieces set in the corners of society which most of us do not see, or wish to experience, as well as the sometimes twisted reality of family life when challenges emerge. This book undoubtedly represents some deep feelings of virtually every variety, and represents the honest attempts of many people to reflect how every life is precious, however wild, challenging or disappointing, but also how hope survives and different ways of living can be achieved. I recommend this book for its honesty, its artistry, and its variety of lived experiences.
June 13, 2021
Wow this is a great book.
The premise might sound heavy but it is brilliantly written and gives the reader such an insight into these life. There are long and short pieces with one common thread, addition and what it means to the authors.
The quality of the entries of this anthology is just brilliant and so thought provoking. A lot of the stories have stayed with me after reading them and I know I will be revisiting this wonderful collection again and again.
This book has come about from a creative writing therapy class, where people in recovery were encouraged to write about their experiences and share their knowledge. Hopefully being cathartic for the writer but also to educate people who may be curious about certain vices. The voices of experience show how hard recovery is but also how beneficial it is.
I really hope this book gets the recognition it deserves and is used within schools to help educate people, but also to celebrate the brilliance of the writing contained within.
The premise might sound heavy but it is brilliantly written and gives the reader such an insight into these life. There are long and short pieces with one common thread, addition and what it means to the authors.
The quality of the entries of this anthology is just brilliant and so thought provoking. A lot of the stories have stayed with me after reading them and I know I will be revisiting this wonderful collection again and again.
This book has come about from a creative writing therapy class, where people in recovery were encouraged to write about their experiences and share their knowledge. Hopefully being cathartic for the writer but also to educate people who may be curious about certain vices. The voices of experience show how hard recovery is but also how beneficial it is.
I really hope this book gets the recognition it deserves and is used within schools to help educate people, but also to celebrate the brilliance of the writing contained within.
April 30, 2021
A compelling account in prose and poetry, fiction and non fiction, of the stages of recovery from trauma, mental and physical health issues, addiction, bereavement and loss. Edited from creative writing sessions run by the editors for Hackney Recovery Service, plus other contributions. I found it in turns inspiring, frightening, grief-provoking, and enraging, the latter being a response to suffering, the horrors of child abuse, the deadly progress to the end of total addiction and inability to find help or strength to resist.
Not all survive. But there is hope and help here, and even humour in the darkness.
Highly recommended. I read it, following its arrival from the publishers, in one long afternoon. I am proud to have been one of the great many sponsors.
Not all survive. But there is hope and help here, and even humour in the darkness.
Highly recommended. I read it, following its arrival from the publishers, in one long afternoon. I am proud to have been one of the great many sponsors.
May 22, 2021
A Wild and Precious Life is a really special book. An eclectic collection of poems and short stories about recovering from a variety of circumstances, I found it moving, powerful, and very human.
The pieces in this anthology are written by authors from a range of backgrounds, who have all had to rebuild themselves from rock bottom. The writing is consistently brilliant and unflinching, and gave me a real insight into lot of different experiences. Even when a piece of writing described the worst of situations, the fact that the author was still around, and able to write about it in such an engaging way, gave me a sense of hope.
This book shows how writing can be a vital part of recovery. The project came out of a creative writing class the editors ran for people recovering from addiction, which helped attendees process and make sense of their experiences, while also discovering and nurturing a creative skill and building their confidence. It demonstrates the importance of the arts, and how they should go hand-in-hand with more clinical interventions when it comes to helping people not only to get better, but to thrive.
I particularly related to, and felt validated by, the poems and stories from those who, like myself, have experienced mental illness, and there are some parts of the book I can see myself turning to for comfort again and again. Something else that struck me as I was reading was the importance of the kindness, patience, and belief of others in aiding recovery, whether that’s from friends, family, medical staff, or other support workers.
A Wild and Precious Life is a powerful and moving collection that demonstrates the power of writing.
The pieces in this anthology are written by authors from a range of backgrounds, who have all had to rebuild themselves from rock bottom. The writing is consistently brilliant and unflinching, and gave me a real insight into lot of different experiences. Even when a piece of writing described the worst of situations, the fact that the author was still around, and able to write about it in such an engaging way, gave me a sense of hope.
This book shows how writing can be a vital part of recovery. The project came out of a creative writing class the editors ran for people recovering from addiction, which helped attendees process and make sense of their experiences, while also discovering and nurturing a creative skill and building their confidence. It demonstrates the importance of the arts, and how they should go hand-in-hand with more clinical interventions when it comes to helping people not only to get better, but to thrive.
I particularly related to, and felt validated by, the poems and stories from those who, like myself, have experienced mental illness, and there are some parts of the book I can see myself turning to for comfort again and again. Something else that struck me as I was reading was the importance of the kindness, patience, and belief of others in aiding recovery, whether that’s from friends, family, medical staff, or other support workers.
A Wild and Precious Life is a powerful and moving collection that demonstrates the power of writing.
June 14, 2021
I was blown away by this anthology. I’ve read a couple of the stories more than once.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews